Michigan congressional primaries highlight suburb sentiments

(The Center Square) – The suburbs were at the center of Tuesday's Michigan primary races.

In Grand Rapids’ 3rd congressional district, incumbent Rep. Hillary Scholten maintained her position as the Democratic nominee against challenger Salim Al-Shatel, who only took 9.3% of the vote. Attorney Paul Hudson won the GOP nominee with 54.6% pver entrepreneur Michael Markey’s 45.4%. Scholten became the representative of the D +1 district during the 2022 midterms, after substantial redistricting removed Battle Creek from district boundaries.

Pete Meijer, the former Republican congressman for Grand Rapids, lost the party renomination then and failed to regain it in 2024.

Michigan’s 8th congressional district, which makes up Saginaw and its suburbs, found a potential replacement for retiring Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township. State Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, took the party nomination with 53.4% of the vote. McDonald Rivet will face former Trump administration member Paul Junge this November.

In Detroit-based congressional district 13, incumbent Congressman Shri Thanedar kept the Democratic nomination by 54.3%. Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters followed at 34.3%, while attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins trailed at 11.4%.

Incumbent John James, R-Shelby Township, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination in suburban congressional district 10. The region includes southern Macomb County, as well as Rochester and Rochester Hills in northern Oakland County. He will get a second face-off with his 2022 competitor, Democratic Judge Carl Marlinga. The former prosecutor defeated primary challengers businesswoman Diane Young, state Board of Education member Tiffany Tilley and the mother of an Oxford shooting survivor Emily Busch with 49.1% of the vote.